The Differential Man Shop

     My Story

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    I was born in Phoenix, AZ in 1952. Those were the days of backyards and buildings things out of whatever you had. I knew I wanted to fix things ever since I could talk. I walked around the house with my plastic pliers and screwdriver saying, "I six it, I six it", I couldn't pronounce my F's. I loved walking down allies, picking up things and taking them home to fix. I had a pile of lawnmowers. In 4th grade, I took the top of my Grandmother's Corvair engine apart to clean and paint, and made it look cool. When I was 12, my dad died and left my mom with six kids to raise. I was into everything. So, that Christmas, My Mom gave me the best present I have ever got, it was Glenn's Motor Manual. A few months later after saving enough money, I rode 3 miles to Sears and bought my first tool set for $49. Today it’s $350. Later that year I bought a 1954 Ford Sedan for $25. I built a Burm down the middle of the yard to keep the irrigation on that side. Not a blade of grass grew on my side for 4 years. The illustrations in the Glenn's Manual were the same as my car. I couldn't wait to get home from school to work on it. As far as my education, I didn't do very good. It was hard to pay attention in class, but I was popular for being the class clown. I learned later in life that I had ADHD on steroids. One thing I was bless with, I had a photographic memory for taking things apart and putting them back together, which came in handy later in life when I was building the big Allison Transmissions for the Copper Mines in Arizona.   

   I was 16 when I got my first mechanics job. I made $3.50 an hour. I finally arrived. Gas was 19 cents a gallon and I was rich. The shop was called "Safety Service & Supply” My boss was Mr. Sutterfield. He taught me how to diagnose and run an honest business. We worked on Cars, 1/2-ton trucks all the way up to semis. In those days we riveted brake shoes and then ground them to fit. I can still smell Asbestos.  I was good at Rebuilding generators and water pumps. There weren’t a lot of exchange units on hand. I made a name for myself to rebuild Quadra jet Carbs.

   One day I needed to check the synchro’s in a CH465 Muncie. I removed the cover to check the gears. As I was tapping the starter, you guess it, the engine started and I was covered in gear oil in less than a second. Everyone in the shop laughed. Little did I know that 20 years later, I remembered how the oil exploded off those gears. That's when I designed the world's first "Differential Filtration Cover".

   In 1970, I competed against all public schools for the Arizona UTI Scholarship. I won the award which helped me pass high school. What's funny is that I never took Auto Shop. I just studied at my Glenn's Manual every night before going to bed. Well, I started attending UTI, it was one building with 600 students and a lot of Vietnam Vets. A year's tuition was $995. Look at it now, Look it up!

   At 22 years old, I started Paul's Automotive. I soon had more business than I could handle. I lost that business because I didn't charge enough. Great Mechanic, but not a good businessman. For those of you that want to have your own business, take a business course or get a good bookkeeping program FIRST! A short time later, I got a job at Axle Transmission of Arizona. I rebuilt transmissions and differentials for the semi-truck industry. That's where I met my friend, Joel Zaft. He learned a lot from that business and in a few years, Joel and his wife started their own Drivetrain Business, Southwest Drivetrain in Phoenix, AZ.  I also left and started my own shop, Arizona Power Train. I started building the big Allison Transmissions for AZ Mines. I mean big! They weighed 2,000 lb. They went into the big Copper Mine Dump Trucks. After a year, my business was growing. I had a good reputation. The big companies didn't like the competition, so they all got together and prevented me from buying Gasket & Seal Kits. So, I had to Close the shop.

   A few months later, the owner of "Gear Train Enterprises", a Driveshaft Rebuilding Shop, called me and asked if I wanted to buy the business.  He made me a sweet deal, and I was off and running. The business was O.K, but very boring.  Then one day, a customer came in with a 12-bolt truck differential. I was hooked! The next month, it rebuilt 2. The differential side of the business kept growing. Later, I sold the driveshaft side to Al Beam. He developed it into the #1 driveline business of Arizona. Today, it is called "Precision Drivelines".

  We’ll go back to "Gear Train". The business kept growing and expanding. I think we moved 3 times. I had great employees; I remember when I hired these two young men. They learned the business and did great work. The business grew as we were building diffs for U-Haul and FedEx. and Phoenix. Because of my own stupidity, my lifestyle took the business down. The business closed. My two top employees Nate & Henry, each started their own Differential Shops. Nate Warren opened Arizona Differential and Henry & Dave Libra opened Arizona Differential Specialists. They both grew their own companies and later became the largest in the state. 

  Over the next 13 years I was lost and caused my mother, my family and my children a lot of pain. Then 2 days after my 60th birthday, I answered an Ad for San Francisco Differential. On the way there, I parked behind a Dennys. I was sleeping in my Van and there is when I hit my bottom. I gave my life back to Jesus Christ and at that moment, I knew everything changed. Inside and out. A year later, I moved to Colorado Springs. I tried to get a job rebuilding Diffs, but I was too old, 61. So I said to myself, "I got myself into this mess, I'll get myself out, and with a lot of help from above, I started the Differential Man Shop. In my van (down by the river), I had some tools, 4 jack stands and a press. That was enough to get started. A Big Thanks to Mike Thibault, T-bone Construction, who rented me a shop to start my business. I couldn't do it without him. So, thirteen years later, I built the business to what it is today. 

  I'm 74 now and running out of time. So in about a year, I'll be selling the business, but before I do, there are some things I have to do.  Besides the jobs in the shop, I am working on "How to" videos for the differential industry. I also am in the process of bringing my patented tools to market. A lot to do. 

  So that's it!